Children's Home run by Haven Residential Care Ltd in Barking and Dagenham

Inspection report for children’s home: 2731503 1 Registered provider: Haven Residential Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to 3 children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were 3 children living at the home at the time of inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted in December 2023.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2731503 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/07/2025 Full Good 07/05/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2731503 3

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Summary of findings

Leaders, managers and staff are deeply dedicated and committed to caring for children and are helping them to make significant progress.

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Summary of findings

Staff are consistently warm and empathetic. They demonstrate genuine affection for children that helps them feel valued and understood. As a result, children have made significant and continued progress in all aspects of their lives since living at this home. One child described the home as ‘like a family,’ reflecting the strong sense of belonging and emotional security children experience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children thrive because of the excellent care provided by staff. All children are making significant and lasting progress from where they began. The support and care that staff provide to children have genuinely enhanced children’s life chances. Two children have lived at the home for a long time and have built trusting relationships with staff who are committed and dedicated to them. This stability makes children feel safe, valued and deeply connected to the people who look after them. As a result, the children feel a strong sense of belonging and want to stay at the home until they have reached adulthood, reflecting the trust that they have in staff and the care that they receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The registered manager and staff have high aspirations for all children and work hard to ensure that they are fully supported to engage in and succeed with their education. Staff have supported one child to engage in daily tuition to raise their academic levels to help them return to full-time school. Because of this consistent support, the child’s behaviour has improved, and their education, health and care plan has been updated positively, opening up new opportunities for school placements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

One child had been out of education for a long time when they first came to live at the home, yet the registered manager and staff were persistent in supporting them to return to full-time education. Their high expectations helped the child recognise their own potential and motivated them to work hard. As a result, the child achieved 100% attendance, sat their GCSE exams, and became an excellent role model for peers in their class. To further recognise children’s achievements, staff make sure their learning and progress are officially acknowledged. Children complete small pieces of work at home and send in evidence to an approved organisation, from where they receive official certificates that boost their confidence and reinforce a belief in their abilities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The registered manager and staff have a strong understanding of children’s physical health needs and emotional wellbeing. To strengthen this, the registered manager has recruited a nutritionist support worker who focuses on improving the children’s nutrition and supports them to adopt healthier lifestyles. This work includes teaching children Inspection report for children’s home: 2731503 4 about foods that nourish the body, slowly introducing healthier options in a way that is supportive rather than restrictive, and engaging children in regular physical activities such as attending the gym and going for walks. The children have also built a strong relationship with the in-house therapist, who helps them explore their emotions safely and work on their life stories to make sense of their past and present. These actions are helping children to improve their health, increase in self-esteem and enhance their

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children have made significant progress in relation to their personal care and independence skills. One child can now shower, complete their own laundry and maintain a tidy bedroom without constant reminders from staff. Another child can confidently budget, shop and cook nutritious meals, preparing them well for adulthood. These are meaningful steps towards greater self-reliance in their life journey.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are offered a wide range of enjoyable activities. One child was interested in boxing but reluctant to attend sessions in the community. Therefore, staff arranged for a coach to deliver mentoring and boxing sessions at the home. This creative approach means that now 2 children participate in the activity on a weekly basis. Both children engage enthusiastically and benefit from an activity that supports their emotional wellbeing and physical health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff actively support children to make a positive contribution to their local community. Recently, children took part in fundraising for a local church. This meaningful experience has helped them recognise their ability to contribute to something bigger than themselves and strengthened their sense of value and responsibility. This opportunity has helped children give back to their community, develop their confidence and build positive social connections beyond their home life.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: outstanding

Safeguarding practice in the home is outstanding. Leaders, managers and staff have a strong understanding of children’s risks, needs and experiences. Staff can relate to children and address their behaviours with them positively. As a result, children’s risks have reduced significantly. This includes a reduction in behaviour that is difficult to manage and a complete reduction in episodes of children going missing from home, increasing children’s safety and wellbeing in the home and community.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: outstanding

Children feel listened to and understood, and this has helped them make progress in meaningful ways. Staff have important conversations with children to help them reflect on their needs, risks and experiences. Children are supported to reflect on their own progress through ‘journey to change’ reflective sessions, which helps them recognise how far they have come and reinforces positive behaviour. The ‘journey to change’ records positively reflect children’s emotional growth and the high quality of care and guidance that staff provide to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2731503 5 Staff consistently promote positive behaviours and there has been a significant reduction in negative behaviours, including the use of poor language. Since the last inspection, incidents of behaviours that are difficult to manage have reduced significantly. As a result, any minor behaviour issues are recorded on behaviour understanding tools rather

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: outstanding

than as formal incidents. This reflects the progress that children have made and the staff’s understanding of children’s needs. When children do display any negative behaviours, staff respond calmly, using respectful language and humour to diffuse situations, which reinforces acceptable behaviours for each child.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: outstanding

Episodes of children going missing from the home have significantly reduced to the point that there have been no episodes since the last inspection. Children no longer go missing from the home. This reflects that children feel settled at the home and comfortable to spend time with staff. If children are past their curfew time when out in the community, staff respond promptly to find the children and return them home safely.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: outstanding

Staff have developed effective working relationships with safeguarding services, including the police, to support and protect children. Police have been invited into the home to speak with children about knife crime, staying safe in the community and making positive choices. This demonstrates the staff’s commitment to educating children to develop a better understanding of risks and how to stay safe. This also protects the children from any unnecessary involvement in the criminal justice system.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The responsible individual and registered manager have excellent oversight of the home and demonstrate an exceptional understanding of children’s needs, progress and lived experiences. The responsible individual provides a strong additional layer of oversight, support and reflective challenge for the registered manager. An effective deputy manager strongly supports the registered manager. Together, they have created a culture of care and accountability and continue to improve the outcomes and experiences of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is very passionate about children’s progress and outcomes, and this is reflected in the practice of the staff team. The registered manager has high expectations for themselves and the staff. Team meetings take place regularly and are purposeful, providing a space for staff to discuss children’s needs, reflect on the team’s practice and learn from safeguarding incidents. Furthermore, the registered manager uses this space effectively to encourage professional curiosity and strengthen safeguarding culture, taking learning from high-profile safeguarding cases and serious case reviews. This level of critical reflection enables staff to understand risk more deeply, apply learning directly to their childcare practice and not become complacent because things are currently going very well for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive regular, practice-focused supervision that explores safeguarding concerns, children’s risks, needs, experiences and progress. Children’s progress is captured well and can be tracked over time, including through ongoing supervision records. This shows Inspection report for children’s home: 2731503 6 that children’s outcomes remain at the centre of staff practice. Supervision sessions demonstrate that professional growth is expected and valued and staff are encouraged to reflect on their learning and development. The registered manager actively supports staff to complete their qualifications and consider taking higher qualification courses. This strengthens staff skills and reinforces positive practice in the home. Staff complete mandatory and specialist training to meet the needs of the children that they care for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers manage the team well. When the registered manager identified concerns about staff team dynamics, they responded swiftly and addressed them directly with the staff concerned, offering mediation to improve relationships between staff. This positive response to restore high standards of practice has created a strong team that works well together, which has resulted in retaining stable staffing levels since the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager and staff have strong relationships with children’s social workers, schools and families, which enables them to work together to help and protect children effectively. This ensures that children receive the support that they need to flourish and thrive. Feedback from children’s professional network and families is outstanding. Parents, social workers and teachers say that communication and support from the registered manager and staff are exceptional, which has significantly influenced positive outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

No requirements or recommendations have been made. Inspection report for children’s home: 2731503 7

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2731503 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Haven Residential Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 5 Brayford Square, London E1 0SG

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Inspectors

Amena Begum, Social Care Inspector Rubina Gani, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2731503 9 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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